The proximity of loss
I was just thinking today, that living in an post-industrial age, where the distinction between classes have definitely been eroded, there is a greater sense of unease at falling from grace, as it were. I mean, let's go back a hundred years, and we'll find people are basically born into a particular level in society, so that if you were born a son of a banker, you could expect a comfortable life, materially, where-as if your father was a street sweeper, it was much more likely you would end up doing similar menial work, for not very much pay. Now of course, there is greater social mobility, and if you showed a particular talent for, say, computer programming, it would be very possible for you to become a well paid software engineer, even if your family background was poor. Opportunities like this exist today, although of course you still have to work damn hard to achieve your goals, especially if you come from a disadvantaged background. So, all very nice, but it also holds true that you could easily lose everything in one fell swoop. Say you tied up your savings in some risky derivatives on the stock exchange, and the markets suddenly collapsed, like that recently did, or that you were mortgaged to 125%, and you lost your job, house is repossessed, etc, you get the idea. You'll find yourself on the street, quite easily. Family broken up and sleeping in a cardboard box, like the growing number of homeless you see around Tokyo. It all seems very fragile, don't you think? But is this just the pay-off for living in a turbo charged capitalist world, where individual rights are gradually being ground away so as to fully worship mammon?
One week on
Well, a week has passed since I decided to knock the booze on the head, and I must say it feels blooming marvelous! Most noticeably, my energy levels have shot through the roof and I feel much calmer. In addition, I'm happier on the whole and better able to organize myself. On the downside, it takes a while to get to sleep at night. Having that beer or wine before turning in certainly helped get one off to sleep, but it was often a disturbed sleep, having to wake at 3am to relieve the old bladder. Now I just sleep right through until the morning, and wake feeling refreshed. It's amazing really, that I'd kinda forgotten how it feels not to have the effects of alcohol in my bloodstream. I'd just gotten used to drinking a bit everyday, as it "relaxed me", but looking back on it having emerged from the fog, it had the direct opposite affect. I highly recommend it to anyone.
It's pretty darn cold here at the moment, but as is usual at this time of year, the sun shines through, and it helps lift the spirits. I've just spent a couple of hours, Sunday morning, playing with Jay, and now I'm going to go out for a quick workout at the gym. Then it's off to the shops to buy a new heater and some curtains - should help keep the apartment nice and toasty!
Have a great day!
Some more pics from the UK
A glimpse
I was walking from Hatsudai to Shinjuku on Wednesday, as I had a bit of time on my hands after finishing a session at Apple. I passed a tiny dry cleaners, and I looked in to see an old lady sat behind a very small counter, surrounded by plastic wrapped clothing. Sitting on her lap was a boy of about two, happy as can be playing with a toy in front of him. The old lady had her hands around his waist, and his little legs were crossed in front of him. It stopped me in my tracks, that sight. I presumed the old lady was the child's grandmother, and she had this loving glaze on her face, exactly the same as what my mum looked like whenever Jay sat on her lap. A concentrated mix of proudness, concern and love which made me smile and at the same time choke up with tears.
Walking
As I was waiting for the Shinkansen to set off on its journey to Fukushima last Saturday, I got to watching how people walk, and just how idiosyncratic it is. Thoughts crossed my mind regarding whether how a person treads is in any way a reflection of their character, emotions and attitude to life. Then, expanding on those thoughts, to how I walk, and what little differences manifest themselves when I'm feeling excited, sad, happy, etc. How do you walk/feel?
New Year musings and resolutions
A belated Happy New Year to one and all!
I feel like I now finally have the chance to catch my breath after Jay's arrival, and will hopefully be penning here more regularly.
Ohh, I've just noticed there's now an add video option on the blogger toolbar. Will try it out a bit later...anyway, am now back in Japan and back at work, with our 3 weeks of Christmas and NY merriment passing into fond memory. We all loved the time with the Kobayashi family, and I found it touching that we could be together and properly introduce the newest addition to the clan. On Jay's part, he seemed to a adapt very well to both air travel and foreign climes, as well as sharing attention with the Kobayashi cat, Pip! For me, having been 3 years since last venturing to England, I basked in the foreigness of the place, especially in the first week of our stay, when even the physicality of people was a wonderment to behold and ponder.
Upon returning to Japan, I've been gathering my thoughts for the coming year, and deciding what to aim for and achieve. I have identified two factors which I think will make a big difference to the quality of my life - giving up alcohol and learning more Japanese. Now, as most of you know, I do enjoy a good tipple or three, but I've found recently that it's affecting my speed of thought and response. I think it's clouding my judgement and I think I don't need it to have a good time. Yes, it's a social lubricant, but I'm already pretty sociable, and I don't have to get a pint down me to feel relaxed enough to talk to people. So, from yesterday I stopped drinking. Secondly, the Japanese. It's an obvious factor really, that the more my skills in this regard improves, the better my life will be, or at least the better I'll be to react to given opportunities whilst living here. It's always challenging, I think, to try and stick to learning a new language if the work or social environment is in another language - for my case English. But, I have to focus and aim for improved fluency. So, this started today, with the first stage being completion of "Japanese for Busy People 1", which will act as a good revision of what I already know. Then, after completing it in a couple of weeks, I'll move onto JBP 2 and 3, which will also involve increasing my kanji ability. By the end of the year, I want to be able to converse with Miyu fully in Japanese for an evening, without any usage of English.
So, they're two big aims for this year. Others include putting more focus on writing short stories, so that within 5 years, I want to have an income stream from it; reading a book a day with Jay and having fun with him; keeping fit by doing my exercises first thing in the morning, to give me a boost for the start of each day; learn to touch type; and cook a new dish every week, as this is something I really miss doing.
To help me achieve these things (and other things!), a friend of mine told me about 6 principles that she follows which have really helped her achieve a tremendous amount last year:-
1. Keep it simple but fun
2. Remember that we only live once and never look back
3. Make sure you spend your time doing what you want to do
4. Don't rush, but be quick because life moves fast
5. Remember the things you have and not the things you don't
6. Never be angry because you are the one that loses out
They're very simple, I think, but reverberate with truth, and I was really taken by them when I heard them.
